Life and Death
This morning, the Washington Post has an interesting article about the number of pregnant women killed over the last 15 years. Like all things by the Post, it’s well written. But the headline I think is a little, ah what’s the word… tabloid-like sensationalism:
Many New or Expectant Mothers Die Violent Deaths
Many? Really? I think they picked the wrong word here. It’s the fear mongering kind of headline that I hope they’ll avoid in the future. It’s not Fox News, after all.
It is scary that pregnant women are just as likely to die from homicide as from any other reason (most of us are more liable to die in an accident). Though surprising, it could be explained by the the fact that most expectant mothers have very good medical care and they’re careful of where they go and what they do, decreasing greatly their everyday risks. Not to mention that pregnancy itself could cause a great amount of stress in domestic situations, leading to an increase of violence.
I’m not saying that it’s not distressing, but waving statistics around without deep analysis is a little distressing to me.
In other news, I think it is important to at least give a nod to the hillbilly father in Washington state who circumsized his own 8 year old son. When questioned, the man claims he was inspired to conduct the procedure after reading the Bible. WARNING: Reading the Bible may lead otherwise normal, intelligent people to believe that they are capable of conducting delicate surgical procedures at home. Personally, I think this guy was probably a few cards short to begin with.
Kent Brockman: Mr. Simpson, how do you respond to the charges that petty vandalism such as graffiti is down eighty percent, while heavy sack-beatings are up a shocking nine hundred percent?
Homer: Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that.